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Cubs’ Carson Kelly explains bizarre way he broke out of hitting slump

9 months agoZoe Grossman

Carson Kelly had a pretty historic start to his Cubs career.

In just his third game wearing the uniform, he hit the franchise’s first cycle since Mark Grace in 1993. That catalyzed a scorching streak for the catcher, in which he slashed .360/.507/.840 (1.347 OPS) with seven home runs and 21 RBI across 17 games in March and April.

But then, Kelly came back down to Earth — hard.

In May, he hit just .203 with three RBI and a .620 OPS. His batting average on the season dipped from .364 to .272 in only 19 games.

So naturally, Kelly had to do something wild in hopes of washing away his hitting woes: He stood in the shower in full uniform.

Seriously.

Kelly spilled all the details with Marquee Sports Network’s Taylor McGregor ahead of the Cubs’ matchup with the Kansas City Royals on Monday, which McGregor shared during the game after Kelly hit his 13th home run of the year.

McGregor said Kelly told her he took his hat and cleats off for the activity, so he wasn’t in his full gameday getup. He then went into the cold tub afterwards to add on to the wild ritual.

“I did not have a hit for four straight games,” Kelly told McGregor.

Kelly didn’t remember the exact date his slump shower occurred. But McGregor determined it was after the Cubs’ May 31 game against the Cincinnati Reds, because Kelly told her he got hits in the following two games.

He hasn’t stopped hitting, either. Since June 1, Kelly is slashing .274/.340/.484 (.824 OPS) with four home runs, eight doubles and 10 RBI.

It’s not the hottest of hot streaks that he enjoyed at the beginning of the year, but it’s certainly a far cry from his struggles two months ago.

And as if on cue, Kelly beat out a swinging bunt single just as McGregor wrapped up Kelly’s story on air — because of course he did.